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dynamoe · 2 years

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I’m doing improv at the “New” iO. Anything you miss about your UCB days?

Youth? Sense of infinite possibility on a distant horizon? Status and power over naïve comedy students I could get drunk and convince to return to my bed?

Vaguest answer: being a part of a community with a shared purpose (making comedy) and being able to experiment with ideas because the stakes were so low. No one was watching.

For the uninitiated, "UCB" is the Upright Citizens Brigade (Theatre), a comedy theater specializing in improv and sketch in New York and "iO" is Improv Olympic, a comedy theater in Chicago that trained the 3 of the 4 founders of the UCB. (Walshie was an Annoyance guy.)

Thank you for your question, my first from a non-anonymous in ages.

I was in the first generation of performers (more or less) with the UCB in New York City. The UCB-4 moved to NY from Chicago in 1996; I started going to shows/taking classes in 1998.

I miss having all your collaborators living a subway ride away and you'd see them every week... or multiple times a week. If you had an idea for a show, you could throw it on stage in under a month. You didn't make any money, but you didn't lay out any money either. You probably had no audience, too.

That's probably the influence of improv— your ideas were disposable so you didn't hold onto anything and get precious about it. The downside is there's no record of our output. The few photographs look terrible and there's no video. Nothing was written down.

I learned to design at UCB on the job, too. Someone always needed a flyer and I was the only person who knew/had Photoshop. There were no standards and no oversight so I could do whatever I wanted on a flyer. The quality of promotions before I started was so bad that anything I came up with was a step up. So, the only physical memento of the early UCB is 200ish flyers I designed.

I've been waffling on doing an interview-based history podcast covering those first years, before we had a physical theater of our own when the "community" was maybe two dozen people. I bought the equipment a year ago, but still haven't come up with a decent enough title to COMMIT to it.

(I also have so many regrets from that time, I'm trying hard not to add caveats to all of these points.)

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westerberg · 2 years

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Tagged by @muirneach thank u Silas !!! 💛💕💛💕😋😛😝💛💕💛

relationship status: single 😐

favourite colour: sage green or golden yellow

favourite food: I never have an answer for this I’m too much of a food lover to have favorites really.... well i’ve got a pot of chicken soup on the stove and i’m going to have some bread and cheese with that which always slays.

last thing i googled: catnip flowers

dream trip: what I think about the most is doing an On The Road trip where i cross the country from NYC-SF-Mexico. I’ve also always wanted to go around the Mediterranean, would also love to see India.....

time: 6:47pm

last book you read: you asked on the right day! Just finished Moby Dick lol. if i did this two days later i would’ve had to say Wowee Zowee 33 1/3

last book you enjoyed reading: Moby Dick turns out to be very good!

last book you hated reading: Got some book called Outlawed from a queer bookstore in SF and it was just like someone said what if handmaidens tale was in the wild west and had half understood “modern” ideas about the gender binary. found it very annoying

favourite thing to cook: soup really is fun to make. I recently started making motza ball soup bc of a childhood fascination with hearing about it on seinfeld (i think i heard mozza ball as in mozzarella and I thought that sounded mindblowing) anyway thats really fun to make and also delicious :3

favourite craft to do: I love finding random things that could hypothetically be painted on and painting them. I love decorating frames and boots and plant pots etc it adds color to life.

most niche dislike: when comedy bang bang guests are are so devoted to their UCB LA improv training that they “yes and” every inane Scott comment and end up creating a character that’s just a series of wacky things with no connective tissue or personality

opinion on circuses now and in history: uhhhhh...? well i’m a little fascinated by the idea of them but i would not really want to go to one. I think it’s great fodder for sketch comedy and i appreciate whatever Paul Westerberg learned in stagecraft from reading about them. I don’t think i know enough to really comment on them in history....

do you have a sense of direction and if not what is the worst way you ever got lost: I have a decent sense of direction. I think i’ve only ever really gotten lost in like, parks i’ve never been in before. and then you just end up walking a little bit more than you wanted.

Tagging @the-replacemints @oreganosbaby @tommystonsils 😁

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standupcomedyhistorian · 11 months

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Hi, everyone! Happy Fourth of July weekend! 🎇

Since many Americans have a long holiday weekend (mine is 4 days off—woo-hoo!), I wanted to post something substantial for those looking for a good comedy read.

And what a read it is! In my longest interview yet, I chatted with Jordan Cooper, who has been providing fascinating archival materials on Reddit for fans of one of my favorite sketch comedy troupes—The Whitest Kids U' Know!

Jordan has known the five guys (Sam, Timmy, Darren, Zach, and Trevor) for more than two decades, and he is a fountain of knowledge on the aughts underground NYC comedy scene at such venues as Pianos and UCB. He's also seen or interacted with like every major comic, including Anthony Jeselnik, Maria Bamford, Kristen Schaal, and John Mulaney for starters.

Apart from his stint as the tech guy for WKUK shows, Jordan has had his own successful career in singing and songwriting AND he acts as a background extra in a number of TV shows and films. Plus, he has a fantastic deep-dive TMBG podcast. So freaking cool! 🤯

If you'd like to know more about his archives and his cameos, I HIGHLY recommend his recent Twitch stream with Timmy Williams on the WKUK channel—it's incredibly informative AND you can hear the audio of their riskiest live sketch where Timmy ended up nude onstage and had Darren fondle his genitals!

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Enjoy the thorough interview, and keep it here for more comedy fun! ✌🏼

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boburnhamhistorian · 1 year

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Hi, everyone!

This is a slight departure from Bo content, but I wanted to let you all know one of my favorite comics (and an influence on Bo's comedy) is Demetri Martin. Well, Comedy Central just uploaded his first half-hour special from 2004 on YouTube today—check it out!

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Demetri is known for his one-liners, similar to Mitch Hedberg, but he also incorporates music, props, and drawings on a large sketch pad to create wholly original comedy shows.

Bo has referenced him many times as one of his favorites on AMAs, and he even brought up Demetri's harmonica holder during a livestream when he was a teen YT comic ("to meet you" is a poor transcription of "Demetri" though lol)!

This particular Comedy Central Presents episode ends with a mind forest setting where Demetri gets his jokes.

There is a dragon...

A centaur...

And even a fairy played by Eugene Mirman! (very what. Intro, right? I have to assume Bo knew about this special before 2013 lol)

Demetri was also my real introduction into comedic wordplay (the man loves palindromes... obviously a word nerd like myself would be enamored haha) and mixing sadness with comedy (the first show I saw him in was at the UCB Theater in NY in 2004, where he mainly talked about his divorce).

If you haven't seen his works, I urge you to watch this special and If I. Both are insanely creative, and I think any Bo fan would enjoy them! ✌🏼

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#Youtube #bo burnham #demetri martin #if i #comedy central #comedy central presents #bo was probably 13 when this premiered #bo burnham what #yes I will be writing about Bo and Demetri at some point #word nerd #palindrome #wordplay

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adultswim2021 · 2 years

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Tom Goes to the Mayor #20: “Zoo Trouble” | August 14, 2006 – 12:30AM | S02E11

Here's another one I don't particularly like. In “Zoo Trouble”, Tom is working at Jefferton Zoo, which has seen better days. This is largely due to a competing animal park, which is a 3D/Virtual experience that involves getting shook around in a hanging roller-coaster style apparatus. This park is run by Brian Doyle-Murray, who is one of the best guys going, and maybe better than his brother Bill. Also, there's a Gorilla named Michael Davidson that hasn't come out of it's cave at Tom's Zoo, and this factors into the plot when he finally DOES. He befriends Tom and gives him some sort of advice that I already don't remember what it was. It winds up being a scam perpetrated on Tom for some kind of financial gain by the competing animal park.

Notable moments include: Bob as a cashier, doing basically his Droopy voice from Mr. Show (I think he did him once before in season one and I don’t feel like looking it up to confirm that I’m right). Tom saying “My name is Tom Peters and I'm in Zoo Trouble!” in the opening instead of “My name is Tom Peters and I'm full of ideas”, I'm noting this because other than Brian Doyle-Murray's appearance in this episode it's literally the ONLY THING I REMEMBERED about this episode.

The humor in this one is a tad off; it's zany, and in the DVD commentary they call it Zucker-Bros.-esque. They spend most of the commentary doing an extended bit about Eric going to Universal Studios for lunch. It's funnier than the actual episode. There's a wacky ending where everyone turns out to be each other in disguise, which is fine but overdone in the world of comedy. In a similar vein there's also a Benny Hill spoof sequence, which seems like some sort of rite-of-passage for hip comedy shows. Mr. Show did it. UCB did it. If they did a To Sir With Love riff in this I'd scream.

EPHEMERA CORNER:

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Shin Chan (August 19, 2006 – 11:30PM)

Okay: I admit that I don't really know that much about Shin-Chan, but I do remember Adult Swim airing it on Saturdays and Weekdays around this time. I remember Sarah Dyer and Evan Dorkin being part of the English dub writing team. So this will not be a deep dive, but what ever is on this blog?

I usually avoid watching second-run stuff too much because my time is... valuable? No. Scarce? Sometimes! Yeah! It's scarce. So, this show is anime which I don't normally cover, but it's also a comedy which I do normally cover. And I remembered so little about this show (which I did watch at least a couple times) that I actually threw on the first episode to check it out last night. I can't say it made me laugh much, but it's alright. The first joke I remember is a kid saying something like “how come you're so rich? Are your parents doctors, lawyers, or jews?” I chuckled at this, but I don't think I laughed again. That's because every joke on the show is basically like this. Kids naming toys they wanna buy and then the last item is “crystal meth”. It's very joke-driven is what I mean. But, if you like it, god bless ya.

MAIL BAG

You've convinced me. I now like "thanks for caring" and will be using it to end all my messages. Thanks for caring.

This is good to see, I’m glad that I’ve tricked you into liking a bad sketch!

I will have to admit, that I had to look this the JJ Pepper sketch up because I didn’t really remember it well. The part where he brags about driving his car to and from the event was so funny, he puts himself in a cartoon racecar, lol. He is so proud of being an adult

Sorry, can’t get the JJ Pepper sketch out of my head. I don’t think anyone would consider that sketch an “all-time great” on the show and certainly not anyone’s favorite Will Forte sketch on that show. They would probably say “Quilting with Will” or “Lazy Horse Mattress”. I personally like JJ Pepper the best because the character is so needy. It doesn’t rely like on any gross-out or shock humor so it should stand the test of time. I dunno. Why don’t you use me for your next event, huh? LOL!

You had an arcade at the pool? That's awesome, but how did wet kids not get zapped by the machines? What were the best games?

There was a country club in my old neighborhood, which wasn’t fancy at all but it did have a big pool and a snack bar and tennis courts and stuff. I think we went there as part of a grade-school graduation thing? Like I remember the end of 6th grade was the whole class going there. Also I went a couple other times as a guest with a family that had a membership. I remember a Mortal Kombat cabinet and one of those NEO GEO cabinets with four different games in the snack bar. Dude honestly it rocked. This is literally the only place I’ve ever been where “adult swim” was ever invoked. It was Northern California and summers were hot as fuck and pools were always easy to come by at friends or neighbor’s houses.

#adult swim #adultswim2021 #tom goes to the mayor

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kevinsreviewcatalogue · 17 days

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Review: The People's Joker (2022)

Just because I left Fort Lauderdale, and with it Popcorn Frights, behind when I moved to Boston last year doesn't mean I have to give up on horror festivals. And just as I managed to sneak in a trip to the Telluride Horror Show amidst my adventures in Utah back in 2022, so too did I find that -- where else? -- Salem, Massachusetts hosted the annual Salem Horror Show in April and May. Tonight was the first night, and they screened one of the festival's token non-horror films in The People's Joker, a queer Batman spoof made without any official approval from DC Comics or Warner Bros. (They originally had a screening of Hocus Pocus planned with Kathy Najimy as a special guest, but Najimy had to cancel at the last minute.) How was it?

The People's Joker (2022)

Not rated

Score: 4 out of 5

The People's Joker exists in a place very similar to that enjoyed by Escape from Tomorrow. In both cases, you have independent filmmakers making unlicensed, unauthorized use of American pop iconography, Disney in the case of Escape from Tomorrow and DC Comics in the case of this film, as a way of satirizing and critiquing it with a particular focus on its corporate ownership and its role in the modern economy. Unlike Disney, which permitted the release of Escape from Tomorrow, DC Comics and Warner Bros. actively tried to clamp down on this film, which was ultimately saved by fair use laws protecting parodies like this. And of the two, I'd argue that this film pulls off what it was trying to do a lot better. While both films are elevated by a particular psychedelic edge and punk-rock attitude, Escape from Tomorrow was too incoherent to really stick the landing or even really convey what it was trying to say, while The People's Joker manages to successfully pull off being not only a dark parody of Batman in which the Joker is the hero, but also a hilarious comedy in its own right, a queer coming-out story, a satire of the entertainment industry (especially stand-up and sketch comedy), and a film that manages to get its message across loud and clear. For obvious reasons, I don't expect this to be more than a cult classic, but it's one I enjoyed and do not regret watching.

In this take on Batman's most iconic villain, one that's most obviously based on the movie Joker but draws on many versions of the character (as well as elements of Harley Quinn), the Joker is now a trans woman who leaves her disapproving mother in Smallville, Kansas for Gotham City in the hopes of becoming a comedian like her idol, UCB Live star Ra's al Ghul. There, upon being exposed to the gatekeeping and hypocrisy of the world of mainstream standup comedy, which here serves largely to prop up a corporate-run dystopia even as it still claims the legacy of those who once spoke truth to power, she starts her own underground "anti-comedy" troupe in an abandoned carnival that comes to be comprised of many of Batman's traditional baddies from the comics. (Her trademark gag is inviting people onstage to tell the world their saddest experiences and then huffing Smilex and laughing her ass off at their misery, because after all, this is still the Joker we're talking about.) This eventually puts her on a collision course with Batman himself, who's depicted as not only the jackbooted thug that more cynical deconstructions of superhero comics have framed him as, but also a perverted closet case on top of it. (Let's just say, this film gets a lot of mileage out of all those jokes you've heard about his relationship with his sidekick Robin.)

The film ain't exactly subtle in what it's saying. UCB Live is a clear-cut parody of Saturday Night Live, right down to the fact that Lorne Michaels is a character in the film, and moreover, its initialism is lifted straight from the famed Chicago comedy troupe the Upright Citizens Brigade that played such a major role in the development of standup and sketch comedy in the '90s and '00s, including producing multiple SNL stars. And while the film never names him so directly, you also get the sense that its writer, director, and star Vera Drew really isn't a fan of Joe Rogan or the standup circle he's built around himself, either. The Joker's introduction to UCB Live's casting has her body being scanned and her being deemed a potential comedy superstar because she has a small penis and is therefore mistaken for the kind of insecure man who the industry is built upon. Her comic idol Ra's starred in a Borat-like film whose main joke was making fun of foreigners. The whole reason Batman, an avatar of the elite if ever there was one (being the CEO of Wayne Enterprises and all), comes after her is because she directly criticizes and threatens the ruling class in a way that the corporate, sanitized world of UCB Live merely pretends to. Drew is somebody who clearly has experience with comedy and the people who inhabit it, and is very much writing that experience into the meat of the story, a metaphorical representation of an entertainment industry that, in her view, only cloaks itself in populism and progressive language enough that it can fend off criticism without actually making any meaningful changes.

Much of this is told through a mix of a riotous and raunchy comedy and the Joker's romance with her fellow comic Jason Todd, aka "Mr. J", a trans man who's envisioned here as a mix of Robin and the edgelord Jared Leto version of the Joker from the DC Extended Universe. The gags came flying at a mile a minute, and often had me busting my gut in laughter. The whole cast is game for the material, with Drew making the Joker a compelling anti-hero not just as a comic presence but also as somebody whose journey from a Midwestern girl-trapped-in-a-boy's-body to a flamboyant Clown Princess of Crime was one that I found myself genuinely invested in. Kane Distler as Mr. J was also an interesting presence, somebody whose relationship with the Joker starts promisingly only for him to turn emotionally abusive and self-centered (complete with a "gaslighting" pun that had me cracking up), indicating that, when he transitioned, he wound up embracing the most noxious forms of hypermasculinity. And as for the style of the film, Drew goes for an exaggerated feel that combines live-action filmmaking, highly stylized CGI, what appears to be a mannequin representing Poison Ivy, and very crude animation both 2D and 3D to create a feeling that reminded me of watching Adult Swim or surfing Newgrounds back in the 2000s. There clearly wasn't much of a budget here, so Drew instead leaned on creativity, both her own and the dozens of artists worldwide who each contributed to the film. It was as unique a film to watch as it was an entertaining comedy, one that demonstrated a lot of talent and commitment on the part of everybody involved.

The Bottom Line

There's no way in hell that The People's Joker is ever getting a wide release, but if it plays near you, I highly recommend seeking it out, as a twisted, countercultural sendup of everything from superheroes to mainstream comedy to who gets to call themselves "the counterculture".

#the people's joker #2022 #2022 movies #comedy #comedy movies #superhero #superhero movies #romance #romance movies #the joker #joker #batman #jason todd #poison ivy #tim heidecker #bob odenkirk #vera drew

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tomorrowedblog · 1 month

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Friday Releases for April 5

Friday is the busiest day of the week for new releases, so we've decided to collect them all in one place. Friday Releases for April 5 include The People’s Joker, Monkey Man, Sugar, and more.

The People’s Joker

The People’s Joker, the new movie from Vera Drew, is out today.

This revolutionary DIY parody film and hilarious reimagining of the classic autobiographical coming-of-age story follows an unconfident, closeted trans girl as she moves to Gotham City to make it big as a comedian by joining the cast of UCB Live - a government-sanctioned late night sketch show in a world where comedy has been outlawed. As mainstream success eludes our heroine, leading her to unite with a ragtag team of rejects, misfits, and a certain love interest named Mister J, “Joker the Harlequin” is born again as a confident (and psychotic) joker on a collision course with the city’s fascist caped crusader. Vats of feminizing chemicals, sexy cartoon interludes, scarecrow psychiatrists, CGI Lorne Michaels, and psychedelic gender dysphoria all play supporting roles.

Monkey Man

Monkey Man, the new movie from Dev Patel, is out today.

Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage, Monkey Man stars Dev Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.

Chicken For Linda!

Chicken For Linda!, the new movie from Sébastien Laudenbach and Chiara Malta, is out today.

Paulette feels guilty after unjustly punishing her daughter Linda and would do anything to make it up to her. Linda immediately asks for a meal of chicken with peppers, which reminds her of the dish her father used to make. But with a general strike closing stores all across town and pushing people into the streets, this innocent request quickly leads to an outrageous series of events that spirals out of control, as Paulette does everything she can to keep her promise and find a chicken for Linda.

Parachute

Parachute, the new movie from Brittany Snow, is out today.

From Director Brittany Snow, Parachute tells the story of Riley (Courtney Eaton) and Ethan (Thomas Mann), who must navigate blossoming love and friendship while trying to overcome combustible personal struggles.

Scoop

Scoop, the new movie from Philip Martin, is out today.

Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatization gives an insider account of how the women of Newsnight secured Prince Andrew’s infamous interview.

The Beast

The Beast, the new movie from Bertrand Bonello, is out today.

The year is 2044: artificial intelligence controls all facets of a stoic society as humans routinely “erase” their feelings. Hoping to eliminate pain caused by their past-life romances, Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) continually falls in love with different incarnations of Louis (George MacKay). Set first in Belle Époque-era Paris Louis is a British man who woos her away from a cold husband, then in early 21st Century Los Angeles, he is a disturbed American bent on delivering violent “retribution.” Will the process allow Gabrielle to fully connect with Louis in the present, or are the two doomed to repeat their previous fates?

The First Omen

The First Omen, the new movie from Arkasha Stevenson, is out today.

When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.

The Greatest Hits

The Greatest Hits, the new movie from Ned Benson, is out today.

Harriet (Lucy Boynton) experiences a unique connection between art and reality. She discovers that specific songs have the power to transport her back in time, driving her to relive various special moments with her ex-boyfriend (David Corenswet). Her time-traveling experiences begin to bleed into present day when meeting someone new (Justin H. Min). Throughout her journey, Harriet explores the mesmerizing link between music and memory, facing her with difficult decisions of whether altering the past is a choice worth making.

Baghead

Baghead, the new movie from Alberto Corredor, is out today.

Following the death of her estranged father (Peter Mullan), Iris (Freya Allan) learns she has inherited a run-down, centuries-old pub. She travels to Berlin to identify her father’s body and meet with The Solicitor (Ned Dennehy) to discuss the estate. Little does she know, when the deed is signed she will become inextricably tied to an unspeakable entity that resides in the pub’s basement – Baghead – a shape-shifting creature that can transform into the dead. Two thousand in cash for two minutes with the creature is all it takes for desperate loved ones to ease their grief. Neil (Jeremy Irvine), who has lost his wife, is Iris’ first customer. Like her father, Iris is tempted to exploit the creature’s powers and help desperate people for a price. But she soon discovers breaking the two-minute rule can have terrifying consequences. Together with her best friend Katie (Ruby Barker), Iris must battle to keep control of Baghead and figure out how to destroy her, before she destroys them.

The Old Oak

The Old Oak, the new movie from Ken Loach, is out today.

THE OLD OAK is a special place. Not only is it the last pub standing, but it’s also the only remaining public space where people can meet in a once thriving mining community that has now fallen on hard times after 30 years of decline. TJ Ballantyne (Dave Turner) the landlord hangs on to The Old Oak by his fingertips, and his predicament is endangered even more when the pub becomes contested territory after the arrival of Syrian refugees who are placed in the village without any notice. In an unlikely friendship TJ meets a curious young Syrian Yara (Ebla Mari) with her camera. Can they find a way for the two communities to understand each other? So unfolds a deeply moving drama about their fragilities and hopes.

Sugar

Sugar, the new TV series from Mark Protosevich, is out today.

“Sugar” is a contemporary, unique take on one of the most popular and significant genres in literary, motion picture and television history: the private detective story. Academy Award nominee Colin Farrell stars as John Sugar, an American private investigator on the heels of the mysterious disappearance of Olivia Siegel, the beloved granddaughter of legendary Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel. As Sugar tries to determine what happened to Olivia, he will also unearth Siegel family secrets; some very recent, others long-buried.

Mary & George

Mary & George, the new TV series from D. C. Moore, is out today.

Mary & George is an audacious historical psychodrama starring Academy Award-winner Julianne Moore (Still Alice) and Nicholas Galitzine (Red, White & Royal Blue), about a treacherous mother and son who schemed, seduced and killed to conquer the Court of England and the bed of King James I.

Dinosaur

Dinosaur, the new TV series from Matilda Curtis and Ashley Storrie, is out today.

Created by Matilda Curtis and Ashley Storrie, Dinosaur follows Nina (Ashley Storrie), an autistic woman in her 30s, who adores living with her sister and best friend, Evie. They have a routine, and they understand each other like no one else could until Evie rushes into an engagement after only six weeks. Nina is forced to grapple with her sister’s impulsive decision whilst navigating love, sisterhood and her life as it’s turned upside down.

Parasyte: The Grey

Parasyte: The Grey, the new TV series from Yeon Sang-ho and Ryu Yong-jae, is out today.

When unidentified parasites violently take over human hosts and gain power, humanity must rise to combat the growing threat.

Virginia

Virginia, the new album from Pharrell Williams, is out today.

#Movies #TV #Music #News

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lboogie1906 · 2 months

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Egobunma Kelechi Nwodim (born March 10, 1988) is an actress, comedian, writer, and singer. Nwodim has been a cast member on Saturday Night Live since 2018, beginning with the show’s 44th season.

She was born in Baltimore. She graduated from Eastern Technical High School in Essex, Maryland. She received a BS in Biology from USC. Deciding to pursue a comedy career, she began taking classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Until joining SNL, she was a regular cast member at UCB, where she performed her one-woman show Great Black Women...and Then There’s Me.

She was named one of the New Faces at 2016 Just for Laughs festival. She performed at the CBS Diversity Showcase. Supporting roles on television include Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders, 2 Broke Girls, and Living Biblically. Impersonating Maya Angelou, she roasted various celebrities and companies in a 2017 Funny or Die sketch. She has made several guest appearances on podcasts such as Comedy Bang! Bang! and Spontaneanation.

On September 8, 2020, She was promoted to a repertory player ahead of the forty-sixth season of Saturday Night Live.

She is related to English footballer Eberechi Eze, who plays for Crystal Palace F.C. in the Premier League. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #womenshistorymonth

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tvguidancecounselor · 10 months

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TV Guidance Counselor Episode 589: Jason Klamm

May 14-20, 1994

This week Ken welcomes comedian, podcaster and author of the upcoming new book about 90s US Sketch Comedy (which you can and SHOULD purchase at sketchcomedybook.com), Jason Klamm.

Ken and Jason discuss podcasting, not making money with your art, The Vacant Lot, Exit 57, Amy Sedaris, getting turned down by a person's "people", Almost Live, The Bert Fershners, the nicest millionaire you know, Adam McKay, 9 Lives, UCB, Phil Hartman, Newsradio, history being written by the victors, sending flowers, FTD, Mrs. Doubtfire, weird places you got VHS tapes from, Star Trek The Next Generation, Laugh-In, Ruth Buzzi, Nixon, Nick at Nite, shows canceled after one episode, character vs plot, Ken's mean prank phone calls to Joe Piscapoe as a kid, MTV and Nickelodeon interstitials, Jimmy the Cab Driver, Toby Huss' Sinatra covers of 90s alt rock, Baby Jessica, Bob Hope, MacGuyver's Lost Treasure of Atlantis, COPS and the LA riots, terrible people on good shows, SNL, Heather Locklear and Janet Jackson, musical guests, Hee Haw, realizing T2 is the greatest movie ever way too late in life, not being allowed to watch violence as a kid, My Breast, Made for TV Movies, Lexi Alexander, growing up in Germany as a military kid, German kids toys, the final episode ever of In Living Color, Evening Shade, Burt Reynolds, hypernesia, Marylou Henner, Lori Laughlin in a brutal made for TV movie "One of Her Own", Reginald Veljohnson, Bob Newhart, loving Phil Silvers, being a young old man, Rescue 9-11, Clinton's favorite SNL sketches, Billy West, Searching for Grace, Sesame St's 25th Anniversary, Dr. Seus and Jim Henson, thinking you'd be an animator and a puppeteer, Don Blueth, Robert Townsend, Ann-Marie Johnson, Hollywood Shuffle, Rod Serling, the carousel in Bimington NY, TGIF, Sasha Mitchell, Hangin with Mr. Cooper, Todd Oldham, Ken's love of TV pagent shows growing up, the Adventures of Briscoe Country Jr., USA World Premier movies, Ken insulting Judd Nelson, Where on Earth is Carmen San Diego?, complaining about Charles Barkley and Nixon's death.

AND be sure to pre-order Jason’s new book about 90s Sketch Comedy here

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jryoungblut · 3 years

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Woke up and decided to drag myself

#tiktok #sketch #sketch comedy #improv #improv comedy #second city #college improv #ucb #chris gethard #snl

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tommyswiseau · 4 years

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Guy Who Just Found Out About Skeletons - UCB Sketch

Hi I wrote this

#this was very fun to write and the actors we got did a very good job #check it out lads #comedy #sketch #ucb #upright citizens brigade

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womenofcolorincomedy · 5 years

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The Rise of Nicole Byer

Nicole Byer is an actor, writer, and comedian originally from New Jersey. She is perhaps best known to audiences for her work on Nailed It! (Netflix), MTV’s Girl Code, and Loosely Exactly Nicole (Facebook). While I am no biographer I am a huge Nicole Byer fan and look to her as a source of inspiration. The following is pieced together based off of what I’ve learned about Nicole from her podcast Why Won’t You Date Me? If any of the following sounds inaccurate please let me know in the comments.

Nicole first trained at AMDA, which she lovingly refers to as SCAMDA (lol lol lol) in acting. She then moved to New York City and studied and performed at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade (UCB) before moving to Los Angeles, where you can watch her perform Tuesdays at UCB Franklin in Search History.

As a student at the UCB in LA I always looked up to Nicole. She’s not only a dynamic powerhouse of a performer, she’s kind and thoughtful. And a hustler. Nothing stopped her from going for her goals and as a result of her hard work she’s a homeowner in LA (um, yeah, props to that) and makes a very good living doing comedy. Let’s take a closer look to learn how she got to where she is.

Nicole’s journey to where she is now is an untraditional one for stand up comics. Most stand up comics believe the only way to get noticed in the entertainment industry is through the open mic route. Now don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of benefit to doing open mics, but let’s be honest ladies: open mic settings can be daunting because you will be outnumbered by the men. It’s even more isolating when you’re a woman of color because of the lack of diversity, inclusion, and support.

What I love about Nicole’s story is that she found a way to bypass the open mic route and go straight to becoming a PAID stand up comic who regularly travels to perform. And the way she did this was by being willing to learn a new skillset. Her improv and acting training, along with her hard work, is what helped Nicole get her first big break on MTV’s Girl Code. This exposure to new audiences is what got her in the door as a comic and it’s because she won audiences over on Girl Code. Up until this point she was just an improvisor and never considered herself a stand up comic. At her agent’s request, she taught herself how to write and tell jokes so that her agent could get her more work, thus bypassing the open mic route that many people think is the only one available to them. Her web series Loosely Exactly Nicole, which can be viewed on Facebook, also helped her reach new audiences. What this means is that regular ol’ folks got to know her first through her work on TV, and because she did such a great job of winning audiences over she created a demand for her own live shows. In this day and age, and thanks to the awful reputation of many male comics (have you read the New York Times lately?), it is more difficult to convince regular audience members to go see a live stand up show these days when the comics performing are people they’ve never heard of. But a recognizable face that has already proven to make you laugh in the comfort of your own home is a powerful way to motivate real fans to buy a ticket to see you live.

There is so much we can all take away from Nicole’s story. For one, all comedy training is valuable but it’s what you as an individual put into it that will get you ahead. To be a working comic you have to approach this as a business. No one is gonna come pluck you up from an open mic, give you your own show, and make you a star. YOU make yourself a star. YOU put the work into yourself in developing the product you are trying to sell (your comedic self). At the end of the day, this is a business. An agent’s job is to get you work because that’s how they make their livelihoods, and you should want an agent that works for you like their rent depends on it because that’s the kind of ally you need in this business. Nicole admits to being hesitant about starting stand up comedy because she never considered herself a stand up comic. I think a lot of us, myself included, think of stand up comedy as its own thing and maybe this stems from the fact that women of color simply don’t see themselves in mainstream stand up comedy. The ones we do see only made it because they are the exception. But when you have an agent who wants to get you more work, you need to do what Nicole did: learn a new skill set. A lot of people give up on learning after they graduate high school and/or college, but the reality is you need to be a life long learner NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO WITH YOUR LIFE. But especially so in comedy, you need to be willing to learn so that you can grow. Comedians are artists, too, and artists evolve.

The other significant take away from Nicole’s story is the role of social media and the internet in her success. If we didn’t have the internet we’d probably have no idea who Nicole even is. The reality is online streaming platforms and podcasting are providing opportunities to under represented voices in a way that traditional television and comedy clubs are incapable of doing unless there is a radical overhaul in leadership. Internet platforms are more inclusive, diverse, and accessible to both content creators and audiences. Who doesn’t have a smartphone these days? And who doesn’t consume a great deal of content on these tiny little computers?

What I’m urging anyone to do, but especially women of color pursuing comedy, is to create your own content. Don’t wait for someone to choose you, choose yourself. Make a web series where you star in it and involve the people you want to work with. Start a podcast. Start a blog. Find creative and inventive ways to share your comedic point of view. But most importantly, invest in your product. Be willing to invest in yourself by taking classes, by outworking everyone around you, by taking care of yourself. If you approach this as a business and you think of yourself as a product (but not in an objectifying way) you will attract like-minded people to help you sell your product because everyone stands to make some money that way. We live in a capitalist society and everything revolves around the Benjamin’s, so be a business woman/person. That’s what will set you apart from the rest who merely spend their time day dreaming about the glamour and fame but never take meaningful action to manifest the life of their dreams. Be bold, be different, be you.

In closing, I’d like to quote the wise words of Jerry Springer, the talk show host: take care of yourself and each other.

To learn more about Nicole Byer and her work visit her website:

https://www.nicolebyerwastaken.com

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frankgarciahejl · 6 years

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Come see our new show! SQUADRON presents: Saturday Night Sketch!

https://sunset.ucbtheatre.com/performance/63165

#ucb theatre #squadron #sketch comedy

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newsofwyattcenac · 6 years

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A message from Barack Obama: a PARODY by UCB Comedy

#throwback thursday #wyatt cenac #comedy #sketch comedy #ucb comedy

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thecomedybureau · 6 years

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Well, UCB LA is assembling some of their absolute best sketch folks and mashing them together for SQUADRON. The team is pretty damn solid the whole way through with David Brown, Christine Bullen, Sheila Carrasco, Travis Coles, Inessa Frantowski, Frank Garcia-Hejl, Mike Lane, Haley Hepworth, Alana Johnston, Ego Nwodim, Marques Ray, and Greg Roman and Will Hines directing. We’ve dug much of their work on the several other teams and shows that they have all performed on over the years.

The first outing for SQUADRON will be Saturday Sketch Night at UCB on Saturday, June 23rd at 9PM at UCB Sunset. Tickets are $12 and we highly recommend that you get them sooner rather than later.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

#squadron #sketch comedy #hollywood #los angeles #ucb #thai town #little armenia

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jaaaimers · 6 years

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Poor Colin is always losing things

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